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Zoology

Zoology is the scientific study of diversity of animal life, classification, physiology, behavior, and evolution. Unicellular organisms have evolved into complex multicellular forms. Organisms, both unicellular and multicellular, in various complex shapes and sizes are found in almost every habitat and environment. The field of zoology includes many subfields of biology as well as a vast diversity of unicellular and multicellular organisms.

Animals first appeared in the fossil record an estimated 600 million years ago as multicellular protozoa. Over the next 70 million years, they radiated into an incredible number of different invertebrate phyla (which represent the majority of animal groups and species), and in the next 150 million years, vertebrate and invertebrate species began to colonize the land. Though the history of animals is extensive and the fossil record at times is conflicted and vague, understanding the historical connections between animals is important in order to understand modern-day relationships among animals and the adaptations that are characteristic of specific groups.

In this course, you will gain a broad understanding of zoology. The course will begin with an introduction to and definition of zoology, invertebrate phyla, and vertebrate phyla. You will then study the history and evolution of animals.

This course will also cover taxonomy, focusing on classical and modern means of classification and providing a broad survey of animal phyla, including some of their shared features and unique characteristics. It will also introduce you to the comparative anatomy and physiology of animals. Finally, the course will address animal ecology: the interaction of animals with one another and with their environment.

This course will prepare you for further study in any biological field that involves animals, including ecology, wildlife management, evolution, animal physiology, animal behavior, and even human biology

Requirements for Completion: In order to complete this course, you will need to work through each unit and all of its assigned materials. Pay special attention to Unit 1, as this introductory unit will lay the groundwork for understanding the more advanced, exploratory material presented in the latter units. You will also need to complete:

The Final Exam

Note that you will only receive an official grade on your Final Exam. However, in order to adequately prepare for this exam, you will need to work through all of the readings, video lectures, and other resources in the course.

In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the Final Exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.

Time Commitment: This course should take you a total of 74.5 hours to complete. Each unit includes a “time advisory” that lists the amount of time you are expected to spend on each subunit. These should help you plan your time accordingly. It may be useful to take a look at these time advisories and to determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself. For example, Unit 1 should take you 10 hours. Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete subunit 1.1 (a total of 8 hours) over the course of a week: read a third of the introductory readings for subunit 1.1 (about 2 hours) on Monday night; a third of the introductory readings for subunit 1.1 (about 2 hours) on Tuesday; the remainder of the introductory readings for subunit 1.1 (about 2 hours) on Wednesday night; the materials for subunit 1.1.3 (about a total of 2 hours) on Thursday night; etc.

Instructions: Scroll down to item 22 under “Academic Stream Books,” and click on the English link to download the PDF file. Read Units 3-5 on pages 104-220 in their entirety. You may want to save the PDF file to your desk top for easy access as you will return to this text throughout the course.

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Instructions: Read these lecture notes for a general overview of biogeography. Cross-disciplinary sciences have attracted a lot of attention and support in recent years through a convergence of academic perspectives that provide us with a fuller understanding of our interconnected and interdependent world. In this section, we will learn about two prominent cross-disciplinary fields that rely on a zoological analysis of the Earth’s history, beginning with zoogeography and then moving on to paleozoology. In zoogeography, we study patterns of the past, present, and future geographical distribution of animals in nature and the processes that regulate these distributions. In other words, its the scientific analysis of the spatial and termporal patterns of biodiversity.

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Instructions: Read the sections “Paleobiology” and “The Geologic Time Scale.” Paleozoology is the study and analysis of animal remains, often recovered from archaeological and paleontological excavations.

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Instructions: Look over this figure of an animal cell to understand its structure and organelles. You may choose to click on the links to each organelle to refresh your memory about their functions (but doing so is optional). When you look at an organism, how do you know whether it is an “animal” and not a fungus or protist or plant? Although this may seem simple, some organisms, like sponges and bryozoans, are not at all easy to classify as animals based on their looks alone. According to scientists, the only way to conclusively determine whether an organism is an animal is to confirm the absence of a cell wall. (Animal cells are enclosed by a flexible cell membrane rather than a cell wall).

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In this unit, we will survey the history and evolution of animals on earth, with an eye toward understanding how certain adaptations led to the animal kingdom’s success. We will also learn how animals are classified and work towards a general understanding of biodiversity among animals by learning the major characteristics of representative animal phyla. Evolution refers to the process by which forms of life have changed through time by what is described as descent with modification. Taxonomy is thescience of naming and classifying living things. Taxonomy and evolutionare related, because the system of taxonomyis based on evolutionary and genetic differences.

Instructions: Read the sections “Organization of the Animal Body,” “Evolution and Classification of Animals,” and “Trends in Animal Evolution.” This reading will also cover the topics outlined in sections 2.1.1.1-2.1.1.4

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Instructions: Read these pages in their entirety (Dr. Fernald’s article includes seven pages; read from “The Evolution of Eyes” to “Conclusions”) in order to understand the basics of eye evolution and the development of complex eyes in two major invertebrate groups.

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Instructions: Watch this video, which is a lecture by Professor William Ayliffe. In the lecture, he discusses theories of the evolution of vision and describes recent research in this exciting area of evolutionary biology.

Watching this video and taking notes should take approximately 2 hours.

Instructions: You may read the article directly on the webpage, or click on the “Get PDF” link to download the PDF file (24 pages). Read the entire article for information on the integumentary skeleton of vertebrates.

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Instructions: You may read the article on the webpage, or you may click on “Full Text PDF” to access the PDF file (17 pages). Read the entire article linked above for more detailed and complex information on the evolution of feathers. Take careful notes and re-read as necessary as you review this article.

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Instructions: You may recall from Unit 6 of the Saylor Foundation’s BIO102 course, Taxonomy is the science which deals with the study of identifying, grouping, and naming organisms according to their established natural relationship. Read the webpage linked above in its entirety for a review on taxonomy.

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Instructions: In The Online Biology Book, read the whole chapter except for “The Kingdoms of Life.” Read all of the Animal Diversity Web’s “Organismal Classification.” These readings will cover the topics outlined in subunits 2.2.1.1 and 2.2.1.2.

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Instructions: Scroll down the Colby College website to the week of November 30th. Under this date, select the first hyperlink titled “Functional Diversity Found in New England Mammal Skulls” to download the PDF file. Please read the entire lab (5 pages). The dichotomous key is an important feature in taxonomy. It is used to characterize an animal. The link teaches you how to use a dichotomous key.

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

Instructions: Read the sections “Sponges” and “Tissues: Jellyfish, Corals, and Sea Anemones.” This reading also covers the topics outlined in subunits 2.3.1 and 2.3.2. Acoelomates are characterized by the absence of a body cavity (coelom). Note that phylas Porifera, Cnidaria, and Ctenophora are classified as acoelomates.

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Instructions: Read the sections “Bilateral Symmetry and Cephalization: Phylum Platyhelminthes” and “The Tube-within-a-tube Body Plan: Phylum Nematoda.” This reading also covers the topic for subunit 2.4.2. Platyhelminthes and nematodes are sometimes classified by biologists as pseudocoelomates. Pseudocoelomates (not quite coelomates) possess a fluid filled cavity between the mesoderm and endoderm. The three layers of the body cavity (ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm) are not clearly distinguished. The fluid filled cavity functions as a skeleton, somewhat supporting the body shape.

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Link: University of New Mexico’s Biology Undergraduate Labs: “Protostomes” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entire lab on protostomes, paying close attention to any diagrams and images. Protostomes are a group of animals in which the mouth develops first. Protostomes also possess a true body cavity–the coelom. molluscs, annelids, and arthropods fall under this category.

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Instructions: Read the text on the left side of the webpage, and click on the following links to view an image on the right side of the screen: Class Polychaeta, Class Oligocheta, and Class Hirudinea. Read until the beginning of the Mollusca chapter.

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Instructions: Read the sections “Phylum Echinodermata,” “Phylum Hemichordata,” “Phylum Chordata,” “Subphylum Urochordata,” “Subphylum Cephalochordata,” and “Subphylum Vertebrata” (through “Classification of the Vertebrates”). This reading coves the topics outlined in subunits 2.5.1-2.5.3. Deuterostomes are distinguished from protostomes by the fact that the first opening of the body cavity–the blastopore–becomes the anus. The mouth develops opposite to the blastopore, or the anus. The digestive tract then develops connecting the mouth and anus. The coelom of these organisms also develops internally. Echinodermata, Hemichordata, and Chordata belong to Deuterostomes. You will learn about each of these more in-depth in subunits 2.6.1-2.6.3.

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Instructions: Read this page in its entirety for an introduction to the craniates group. Do not concern yourself with details of physiological characteristics or phylogenetic relationships. Order Craniata (the vertebrates) consists of all animals that have a skull encasing a brain. These animals have central nervous systems, brains, spinal cords, and endoskeletons. We will study this order, because you are likely to encounter its members (birds, snakes, squirrels, fish—and humans) in your day-to-day life.

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This unit will introduce you to the basics of animal anatomy and physiology. The unit will focus primarily on those characteristics and systems that are shared among animal groups but will also provide you with an overview of some of the physiological differences among animal groups and the evolutionary pressures that led to those differences.

Instructions: Read this table comparing the characteristics and constraints of exoskeletons and endoskeletons, along with the brief descriptive paragraph above it. This resource covers the topics listed in subunits 3.1.1 and 3.1.2.

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Instructions: On the webpage linked above, click on the “PDF” link at the top right-hand corner of the page after “Format.” Read the entire article (9 pages). This reading also covers the topics in subunits 3.2.1 and 3.2.2.

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Instructions: On the webpage linked above, click on the “PDF” link at the top right-hand corner of the page after “Format.” Read the entire article (9 pages). This reading also covers the topics in subunits 3.2.1 and 3.2.2.

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Instructions: Scroll down to Chapter 7, and select the “Vision” hyperlink or the option to download the chapter as a PDF. Read this chapter in its entirety for information on the biological structure, physiology, and function of the vision system (32 pages). Make sure to carefully view the figures and visuals provided.

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Instructions: Scroll down to Chapter 10, and select the “Gustatory and Olfactory Senses” hyperlink or the option to download the chapter as a PDF. Read Chapter 10 in its entirety (11 pages) to learn about gustatory and olfactory senses.

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Instructions: Read this page in its entirety. Note that while only insects and mammals are described, virtually all animals use and recognize pheromones and many organisms that live in areas with little or no light depend upon them.

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Instructions: Scroll down to almost the end of the list of interactive exercises and click on “The Vertebrate Circulatorium.” Then click on the different animal examples and observe their circulation patterns in both a systematic view and a heart-detail view.

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Instructions: In “The Lymphatic and Immune Systems,” read the subsections “Immunity,” “General Defenses,” and “Specific Defenses” (up to but not including “Lymphocytes”). Although the focus is on human immunity, the reading will provide you with an overall introduction to the topic. You should also read the entirety of the Science Daily article to get a sense of how non-vertebrate species deal with infections. The immune system is the body’s “defense mechanism.” The components of the immune system include cells and organs that protect the body from invasive bacteria and viruses. Adaptive and innate immunity are the two components of the immune system.

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Instructions: Read this page in its entirety; it will provide you with an overview of endocrine systems and mechanisms. The endocrine system produces hormones that control and regulate body functions. The hormones are responsible for growth, development, digestion and reproduction in a living system. In this section, you will be reading about the invertebrate and vertebrate endocrine systems. Note that this reading also covers the topics outlined in subunits 3.7.1 and 3.7.2.

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Instructions: Click on the link above, and read the entire text to learn about the digestive systems of herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

3.8.2 Carnivore

Note: This topic is covered in the reading beneath subunit 3.8.1. Remember that the term carnivore to animals who diet primarily on meat.

Instructions: Read from the beginning of this page through the section “Vertebrates Have Paired Kidneys” as well as the section “Kidney Function.” This resource covers the topics outlined in subunits 3.9.1 and 3.9.2. The excretory system functions to remove toxic metabolic waste from the organism’s system to maintain homeostasis (equilibrium). Kidneys and skin eliminate urine and sweat as waste products. In this section, you will be reading about vertebrate and invertebrate excretory systems.

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Instructions: Read “Budding,” “Fragmentation,” and “Parthenogenesis,” and read the first sub-section of “Why Choose Asexual Reproduction?” (up to but not including “Purging Harmful Mutations”). This will cover the material in 3.10.1.

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Instructions: Read from the subsection “Reproductive Cycles” through the end of the page. Do not concern yourself with the diagrams of hormones and hormone cascades. This resource will also cover the topic outlined in subunit 3.10.7.

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Instructions: Read the section entitled “The Marine Environment.” However, please note that the information in the “Density Problems” section on fish swim bladders is not accurate; fish do not inflate or deflate swim bladders as a means of rising or sinking in the water.

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Instructions: Read from the beginning of this page up to but not including the section “Class Amphibia.” Note that this reading covers the topics outlined in subunit 3.11.1-3.11.3.

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3.11.2 Movement

Note: This topic is covered in the locomotion section of the reading in subunit 3.11.1.

3.11.3 Reproduction

Note: This topic is briefly covered in the reproduction section of the reading in subunit 3.11.1. Remember from your reading on amniotes that, due to the evolution of the hard-shelled amniotic egg, reptiles, birds, and mammals no longer need to lay their eggs in water; also note that fertilization in all amniotes is internal.

In this final unit, we will learn how animals fit into the global ecology. Remember that ecology is the biological study of organisms’ interactions with their environments. The abundance and distribution of animals depends on abiotic factors, such as climate and habitat, as well as biotic factors, such as species’ interactions with other organisms. In this unit you will learn about the factors affecting global animal distributions, the interrelationships among organisms within communities, and the relationship of animals to energy and carbon cycles.

Instructions: Read the entire webpage. Also, explore the map, and read more information about each different type of biome by clicking on the names of each biome (i.e. Tundra, Taiga, Grasslands, etc.) in the map’s key. This resource covers the topics outlined in subunits 4.1.1.1-4.1.1.6.

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Instructions: Read the entire webpage, and click on the image for each biome to read more. Pay particular attention to the “Freshwater” and “Marine” sections. The “Desert,” “Forest,” “Grassland,” and “Tundra” sections will reinforce what you have learned in the Blue Planet Biome readings. This resource will cover the topics in subunits 4.1.1.1 - 4.1.1.7.

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Instructions: Scroll down to the section titled “Several Basic Controls Govern Population Size”; read from this section up to but not including “Population Decline and Extinction.” This reading will cover the topics outlined in subunits 4.2.1 - 4.2.5.

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Instructions: Click on the instructions for the first activity, “The Producers,” to understand the premise of the model. Read all steps, then click to open the simulator and run the model. This interactive lab will allow you to visualize the community interrelationships of niche partitioning and competition and see how these relationships are affected by predators (in this case, the introduction of an herbivore to the two-plant community).

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Instructions: Read the section “Ecosystems and Communities” in its entirety. Resource cycling is important to maintain sustainability of the biosphere. The trophic levels, biogeochemical cycles play a crucial role in resource cycling.

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Instructions: Click on the instructions for the second activity, “Food Web,” to understand the premise of the model. Read all steps, then click to open the simulator and run the model. This interactive lab will allow you to visualize the community dynamics of animals at different trophic levels in a food web.

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Instructions: You must be logged into your Saylor Foundation School account in order to access this exam. If you do not yet have an account, you will be able to create one, free of charge, after clicking the link.